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Friday, October 26, 2012

Coat Sew-Along: the Completed Lining

Hello, sew-along friends! How are you all doing with your coats? At this point, hopefully you are close to having a completely constructed lining.

Here's mine, looking an awful lot like Hugh Hefner's smoking robe. Let me just grab a Cuban and a cognac.

A word on my lining: it's called Kasha lining, and it's an satin-y acetate that has a cotton flannel backing for warmth. (I purchased it from the link above. However, if you live near NYC, you should know that you can get it in better colors for $4 less per yard at B&J Fabrics.)

Here's a picture of the satin side.

I chose this lining for its warmth, but also for its opacity. The boiled wool/lace I'm using is slightly sheer when held up to the light, and I wanted a winter white lining that would make the ivory of the boiled wool pop. The Kasha Satin in white fit the bill perfectly. (You should know that the white color skews slightly ivory.)

I also wanted to mention that I finished the seam allowances on the skirt part of the lining with my serger. Because this is a free-hanging skirt lining, I wanted to be sure that the seams look neat if seen.

The next step is to hem the lining only (not the facing). Important: make sure that you let the lining hang for a day or two before this step. You'll want to even up the hem (if any of the bias stretches) by measuring up from the floor to make sure it's even all the way around.
After you have an even bottom edge, you'll do a narrow hem.

To do this, press the whole bottom edge up 5/8". I use my seam gauge for this task.

Then, turn in the raw edge so it meets the fold you just pressed. Press again. Finally, edgestitch the fold of the hem.

This weekend I'll document the next steps, which will include sewing the lining into the jacket, and lots of clipping, notching, and pressing! Woo hoo!

P.S. Before we go on, also make sure that you've completed step 17 (after letting your coat hem hang and evening up the raw edge, if necessary). Those 3" bias strips of interfacing will get fused 5/8" from the raw edge, so when you turn up your hem, you'll have interfacing to support your hem stitches.

Speaking of robes, I bought your pattern to fulfill my dream of recreating one of those gorgeous coachman bathrobes from the 1950's. I'm going to use the bodice of the coat combined with the skirt of Butterick 5152. It's probably a project for next year -- or maybe the spring. I haven't decided on the fabric yet. The one I saw was velvet, but I'm awfully tempted by the thought of a wool robe.

I am doing the coat sew-along, and I am excited how it's turning out so far. So for the coat, it's basically a roll hem, then edge stich (i watched one of your videos on roll-hemming a circle skirt, so I think I get it), but how do you do the edge stich without it being visible?